If Ferris Bueller had been forced to give up a few things he wanted before he faked illness to get out of school, well, he might have just traded his big day off for class.

The 1980s film “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off” showcases a prank pulled by many students for decades, and, apparently, many inmates.

It seems faking a sickness in jail means you receive a “get out of jail free” card in Concordia Parish. A visit to the doctor’s office, hospital or even the nurse visiting the jail can be a much-desired break from a jail cell and neighbors you don’t like.

In the meantime, the parish taxpayers were picking up the bill.

But not anymore. The Concordia Parish Police Jury approved a much-discussed ordinance Monday night that may keep Ferris in jail.

Now, inmates who visit the doctor, nurse or hospital or those who need a prescription, dental exam or psychiatric exam must pay $7 from their jail commissary fund.

The fund typically contains money family members provide inmates to purchase drinks, candy and other supplies from a jail general store.

The goal isn’t to withhold needed medical care, but instead to make sure inmates really need it and to save the parish a bit of money.

It’s a smart idea and one we hope provides the expected results.

Jail or not, faking illness should be left to the children among us.